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Comments: Sales rose nearly 9% last year. By segment, North American retail accounted for 57.5% of sales. Products are sold in 795 North American premium wholesale locations, which include Ulta, Sephora, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Sephora in JCPenney, Bloomingdale’s and Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada. The division reported a 14.7% increase in sales, which the company attributed to the opening of 43 boutiques last year.

North American direct-to-consumer sales represented 30.6% of sales last year. Chief executive officer Leslie Blodgett is a frequent visitor to QVC, but Bare Escentuals’ products are also sold via infomercials. Last year, the division reported a 11.3% decline in sales to just over $170 million. The company blamed the decline on a drop in the performance of infomercials offset, in part, by an increase in online shopping sales.

International markets accounted for 11.9% of sales—up from 7.9% in 2007. International sales increased 64.3% to nearly $66 million. The company is building brand awareness through media channels such as infomercials and home shopping television in key international markets. Bare Escentuals partnered with a third party to build its infomercial business in Japan.

“As anticipated, the economic environment remained challenging in the first quarter, manifesting in sharp inventory de-stocking among our key retail partners which impacted our first quarter financial results. In this environment, we are focused on managing our business as diligently and prudently as we can while continuing to improve upon the customer experience,” said Ms. Blodgett. “While expense management will remain top-of-mind at Bare Escentuals, we are equally committed to building on our strong brand heritage through strategic investments in new product introductions, customer acquisition and distribution expansion that will position us for long term success.”

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